Electrically conducting panel



J. H. LEMELSON 3,

ELECTRI CALLY CONDUCTING PANEL Filed Nov. 25, 1964 INVENTOR. Jerome H.Lemelson United States Patent 3,414,863 ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING PANEL Jerome H. Leinelson, 85 Rector St, Metnchen, NJ. M840 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 389,848, May 28, 1956. This application Nov. 25, 1964, Ser. No. 432,033

9 Claims. (Cl. 338-244) This invention relates to reinforced metal panels and means for producing same capable of various uses, for example, the fabrication of containers, walls, heat exchangers and the like.

This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 389,848, filed May 28, 1956, and entitled, Ducted Sheeting Construction, now U.S. Patent 3,166,829 issued J an. 26, 1965.

It is known in the art to form a sheet or plate of metal having a strip-like interfacial volume disposed between the major faces of the sheet and extending substantially parallel thereto, which volume may be expanded by applying fluid pressure thereto to cause the metal adjacent at least one side of said strip-like volume to outwardly expand and to form a duct or tubular formation in the sheet. Two fabrication techniques have had substantially wide commercial acceptance in the fabrication of so called ducted sheeting and are commercially referred to as the Tube-in- Strip and Roll-Bond methods. The Roll-Bond method is described in the Long Patent #2,662,273 which involves printing a pattern of stop-weld material on a first sheet of metal such as aluminum and hot rolling said sheet to a second sheet in a manner to weld the two together save in the printed areas which define said strip-like volumes which are capable of being expanded by the application of fluid pressure thereto. The Tube-In-Strip method involves the incorporation of strips of friable material into the metal billet to be rolled into sheet form which strips eventually define thin sheets of said friable material within the final hot rolled sheeting and prevent the fusion of material in the immediate area of the strips, thereby defining a nonwelded, strip-like interfacial volume capabe of inflation and outward deformation of the resulting metal.

A general object of the instant invention is to provide new and improved electrical circuit elements.

Another object is to provide new and improved electrical resistance heating elements.

Another object is to provide an improved electrical resistance heating element in sheet form having a minimum number of components.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a fragment of a ducted sheet material having an electrical conducting material retained within certain of the duct formations of the sheet- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a modified form of ducted panel of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a modified form of the electrically conducting panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a fragment of a ducted sheet of the type described showing means for internally reinforcing said sheeting and/ or rendering the interior of the sheet ducting insulated, or corrosion resistant which material may be applied either prior to or after fabrication of the sheet into any desired shape or article. The sheet or panel is shown having ducts 12 which are integrally formed in a base sheet 11 by the deformation of non-fused interfacial areas thereof preferably expanded as described. Two ducts are illustrated in FIG. 1. The first duct formation 12a has an internal volume 13 filled with air or any desired fluid and may be sealed therein and used per se for reinforcing said panel 10 or for fluid conduction therethrough. A second duct formation 12b is shown provided with an internal shell, or coating which is fused to or 3,414,863 Patented Dec. 3, 1968 abuts the wall of said ducting, the interior volume 13 of which contains a conducting said material 14 such as metal. Said filler coating formation 15 may comprise one or more of a number of different materials and is preferably applied by injection of fluent or liquid material into said ducting. It may also be applied to the conduit formation as a rod, tube or other form after the formation of said duct. It may be rapidly provided with a minimum amount of application labor by pumping or otherwise forcing a hardenable liquid into said ducting from an opening therein which solidifies by cooling or otherwise sets thereafter. Suggested materials for said filler are any of the thermoplastic or thermosetting plastics liquid or particulate materials made molten by heat and pressure and injected or forced into said ducting 12, preferably while the sheet is held in a clamping fixture or other means operative for preventing the ducting walls from bursting or otherwise failing when the plastic is injected under pressure. Such a fixture may comprise a plate provided with recesses or channels having the contour of the surface of the ducts 12 illustrated and adapted to engage the surfaces of the panel between the volume 13' and operative to hold the sheet or panel 10 against a flat or similarly contoured surface while the pressurized liquid is injected into one or more of the volume 13. It is noted that the liquid filler injected under pressure may be utilized to inflate the ducts to their desired shape thereby permitting both inflation and filling in one operation and eliminating the need to both inflate and later fill said ducts.

Notation 15 refers to a hollow shell, filler or coating whereby the wall of duct formation of 1212, coating 15 or a conductive coating provided. The coating material 15 may comprise various suitable materials operative to serve a number of purposes. It may be utilized to reinforce the duct 12b and/ or to protect the inside surface of the vein-like duct against corrosive effects of various liquids, vapors or gases carried therein. A further use of 17 is to function as an electrical insulation for a conducting liquid, solid or coating provided in the core volume of 13. Other functions of the film, coating or tubular member 15 include its use as a shock absorber, heat insulator, base for an electrical conductor, or rust or corrosion inhibitor. It may also be used to reduce or prevent erosion or wear of the material of the duct wall 12b.

The coating or shell 15 may comprise any suitable plastic resin material or other material which will adhere to said walls as a film, plating, coating or deposited layer. Nylon or other resins, for example, may be applied cold to the surface of duct 12b by dissolving the resin in its appropriate solvent to provide a desired coating solution and pumping or otherwise flowing said solution through said duct to completely wet the walls thereof after which the excess liquid is caused to flow out the conduit by gravity or passage of a second fluid through said ducting thereafter. Said second fluid may comprise pressurized air applied to the inlet of said ducting after stopping the flow of said liquid solution for a period thereafter to also effect drying the material coating the interior of the tube. The described procedure may be repeated a number of times to construct a coating on the inside surface of 12b. The air or fluid so passed through the conduit contained volume may also be heated to enhance the drying. The panel 11 may also be simultaneously heated from the exterior to increase the drying or solidification rate of said coating when heating may be effected. Shellacs, lacquers and other suitable materials such as thermoplastic in liquid or powdered plastic may also be appliedvto the interior of pipes and tubes.

Both the Tube-In-Strip process and the Roll-Bond process employ inert, friable materials or coatings to provide said non-fused interfacial areas. Such coatings remain and may inhibit or prevent satisfactory coating of subsequently deposited layers applied as described. It will therefore be frequently necessary to flush out said ducting with a commercial cleaning liquid or detergent after inflation of the sheet.

The coating may also comprise (a) a ceramic, porcelain, glass or other similar material operative for insulating or effecting corrosion resistance at temperature, (b) a metal coating plated or otherwise applied to the interior of duct 12b or the inner surface of coating 15. This may be effected by flowing an electrolyte of said metal radical through said duct whereby the Wall of duct formation of 12b, coating 15 or a conductive coating provided thereon becomes the cathode in an electrical circuit. (c) Where the sheet 11 is aluminum, the coating 15 may be an anodized layer deposited thereon by conventional means and may be used for electrical insulation purposes. The liquid electrolyte or chemical may be removed thereafter by a flush with water or air. The fillers 14 or 15 may be other materials such as concrete, powdered metal, solid metal, or other suitable material. (d) Mentioned but not described in detail is the use of a metal for the filler of the duct 12 for reinforcing said duct. A metal in its molten, liquid state ma also be poured or forced through the duct 12 to provide an interior shell or hollow core similar in shape to 15 by cooling the exterior of said duct so that the metal closest to the wall thereof solidifies first after bonding or fusing against said wall. The metal at the core or center of said stream in said duct may be forced therefrom before it solidifies by the use of a high pressure stream of gas or air applied to one end of said duct after the flow of metal therein has ceased. The ducted panel 10, may, depending on the temperature of the molten metal and the melting range and thickness of the sheet 11 and duct walls, be cooled from the outside by immersing it in a tank of liquid such as water and rapidly circulating said liquid over the surface thereof to remove suflicient heat therefrom to prevent the walls of 12 from warping or melting. It may also be desirable to hold said panel in a form or frame made preferably of metal with a high heat conductivity such as copper which form makes surface contact with said duct walls and abuts at least part of the sheet 11 therebetween, supporting the walls of said ducting and dissipating the heat therefrom. The form may also be water cooled to enhance the transfer of heat from the liquid metal, and may comprise two half panels, each abutting a surface of 11. Proposed combinations of said metal filler in said ducts are respectively: (a) Aluminum, zinc or lead in copper, (b) aluminum, lead, zinc, etc. in aluminum, (c) copper in copper, (d) copper, aluminum, lead or zinc in nickel or nickel alloys, (e) any metal in steel, etc. If an aluminum ducted panel is provided and the interior surface of the walls of said ducts are anodized, a metal such as lead, aluminum, copper or other metal injected therein, plated or deposed thereon from particulate state and melted by heat applied as a hot gas from within or radiant heating means applied to the exterior of the panel. Such a coating may serve various purposes such as an element in an electrical circuit. If the coating 15 is an electrical conductor, it may have an insulating material disposed against the inside surface thereof.

Conduit 12b may also contain a filler material, solid or liquid, within the lining 15 such as an electrical conductor operative for current carrying purposes. An electrical circuit or a circuit conducting element may thus be provided in a ducted panel insulated from said panel and utilized to conduct electrical energy to one or more electrical devices mounted on or adjacent to said panel. A current conducting element may be provided by flowing a liquid such as mercury, an electrolyte or any current conducting material into the duct 12b after the insulating layer or coating 15 has been provided therein and sealing, or stopping off, said duct so that the liquid contained thereby will not leak or spill out. If it is desired to flow the conducting liquid therethrough while maintaining a circuit, means should be provided to guarantee an uninterrupted flow of said liquid. Other materials which may be utilized within the coating or interior casing 15 include: (a) a metal such as lead or aluminum flowed therein while molten and allowed to solidify, (b) current conducting plastics or other materials completely filling out the core of 15 or coating the interior surface thereof, (c) one or more layers of a conductor plated or otherwise deposited on the interior surface of 15 between layers of insulating plastic coated thereon, as described, after each conducting layer. This process may be applied to any ducted wall conductor for providing multiple annular shaped conductors in a tube. ((1) Powdered metal flowed into said duct in a fluid or liquid such as a conducting plastic which solidifies or an electrolyte or mercury which saturates said powder, remains therein or is flowed off after said powder compacts therein. If the conductor comprises metal flowed therein while molten, then the coating 15 is preferably an anodized layer, a ceramic or other material which will not be destroyed by the heat of the metal. While flowing a molten liquid metal at high temperature into 1212, the exterior walls thereof may be cooled by a liquid sprayed thereon or circulated thereabout.

It is further noted that if an electrical conducting liquid or solid is provided within the insulating coating 15 it may be electrically connected to one or more electrical elements or devices external of said panel by several means. A hole may be drilled through the wall of 12b and through one surface of 15 through to the material or liquid within 15. The exterior of the grommet or tube may be welded or molecularly bonded or secured to 12b with an adhesive provided also between the walls of said grommet and said hole walls. A wire or rod may be secured to the interior of the grommet by an adhesive frictional or force fit therewith or welding. An adhesive or potting compound may be used to seal off the hole area around the grommet. A conducting element or wire may also be pushed into the end of the tube or duct 12b and frictionally engage the conductor therein or be soldered thereto. It may be held therein with a plastic potting compound or adhesive material surrounding said conductor and extending over said ducted panel in the areas thereof, where said rod or wire enters said tube or duct 12b.

The above described structures are illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 2 is shown a sheet or panel assembly 20 which is a modified form of the ducted panel shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a main sheet 21 having a duct formation 22 formed therein containing wall portions 22' and 22" deformed outwardly from the main sheet 21 to provide a passageway 23 through the sheet. Coating or otherwise provided on the inside surface of the duct formation 22 of the metal sheet 20 is an insulating material 23 and disposed inwardly of said in sulating material is a conducting material 25 which is preferably deposited therein and is composed as hereinabove described. Extending axially through the conducting material 25 and outwardly from the end of the panel 20 is a wire or rod 26 which is utilized to electrically connect a source of electrical energy to said conducting material 25. The wire 26 may be frictionally held within the conducting material 25, soldered or otherwise con nected thereto and may be further retained in position by said described plastic potting compound or adhesive material applied to the conductor and the ducted panel in the area where the wire enters the duct 22.

In FIG. 3 is shown the hereinabove described modification to the ducted panel structure illustrated in FIG. 1 whereby a wire or conducting rod extends laterally through the wall of the ducted panel and is electrically connected to the core conducting material. The assembly 30 includes a ducted panel 31 having a duct formation 32 formed therein and comprising portions 32' and 32" of the metal of sheet 31 which are shaped to provide a passageway 33 in said sheet which passageway is lined with an insulating material 34 completely surrounding a conducting material 35 disposed therein as described and insulated from the metal of the sheet 31 by said insulating material 34. A hole 32H is provided through the wall 32 and insulating layer 34 and a grommet 36 of insulating material has its shank penetrating the hole 32H. A wire or rod 37 extends through the grommet 36 to the conducting material 35 and is electrically connected thereto for conducting electrical energy to or from the conducting material 35. The grommet 36 is secured to the panel 31 by means of an adhesive or may be welded or molecularly bonded thereto to retain the wire 31 in position.

I claim:

1. A heat transfer panel comprising in combination:

(a) a sheet-like material made of metal,

(b) said metal sheet having a passageway extending between the major surfaces thereof with portions of said sheet defining portions of said major surfaces serving as respective opposite walls of said passagey,

(c) an electrically conducting material having a cross section smaller than the cross section of said passageway and extending completely through said passageway,

(d) an insulating material disposed between said conducting material and the wall of said passageway and completely surrounding said conducting material,

(e) said insulating material serving to electrically insulate said conducting material from the metal of said panel, and

(f) electrically conducting connection means connected to said electrical conducting material disposed within said passageway,

(g) said electrical connecting means being insulated from the metal of said panel and extending beyond the panel for connecting said conducting material to a source of electrical power.

2. A composite panel comprising a sheet of metal having a conduit formed within and extending through at least a portion of said sheet, at least one wall of said conduit bulging outwardly from a major surface of said sheet and formed as an integral extension of portions of the same stratum of said sheet defining said major surface, an insulating material completely coating the inside surface of said conduit and bonded thereto, and an electrical conducting material provided within said conduit as a layer defining material deposited within the jacket defined by said insulating material coating the inside surface of said conduit, said electrical conducting material being bonded to said insulating material and serving as a circuit element encapsulated within said sheet.

3. A composite panel structure in accordance with claim 2, said electrical conducting material comprising a deposited layer of electrical resistance material capable of generating heat when electrically energized.

4. A composite panel structure in accordance with claim 2 whereby said electrically conducting material forms a solid core and completely fills the volume of said conduit interior of the coating of insulating material therein.

5. A composite panel structure in accordance with claim 2 whereby said electrical conducting material is formed as a coating on the inside surface of said insulatin g material.

6. A composite panel structure in accordance with claim 3, said electrical conducting material being formed as a tubular coating on the inside surface of said deposited layer of electrical resistance material, and a further insulating material disposed against the inside surface of said resistance material.

7. A composite panel structure in accordance with claim 2, said electrical conducting material comprising a conducting liquid encapsulated within said sheet.

8. A composite panel comprising two sheets of pressure-weldable metal which are pressure bonded together except along strip-like portions defining volumes between said sheets, which volumes are void of said metal, an insulating material deposited in situ on and bonded to the wall of said sheet defining said strip-like volumes, and a conducting material comprising an electrical resistance material deposited as a layer against the inside surface of said insulating material and insulated from the metal of said sheet thereby, said resistance material being operative when electrically energized for electrically heating said panel.

9. A heat transfer panel in accordance with claim 1 whereby said insulating material is a layer of anodized aluminum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 389,729 9/1888 Wiest 338-222 X 540,073 4/1895 Reed 338-258 629,153 7/1899 Dewey 338-57 707,194 8/ 1902 Ball z 338-268 X 2,777,300 1/ 1957 Palmer. 1,191,863 7/1916 Williams 52-630 3,059,733 10/1962 Herman 52-630 1,668,230 5/ 1928 Clay 220-71 2,322,704 6/ 1943 Seltzer 220-71 3,166,829 1/1965 Lemelson 29-155 3,166,831 1/1965 Kein 29-155 3,160,517 12/1964 Jenkins 117-933 2,453,770 11/ 1948 Wendt 117-933 1,246,947 11/ 1917 Schett 220-72 1,668,230 5/1928 Clay 220-71 1,883,003 10/1932 Sexton 220-71 2,210,489 8/1940 Lemmens et al 220-72 2,324,039 7/1943 Stone 52-602 2,375,334 5/1945 Valyi et al. 29-155 2,671,158 3/ 1954 Rubenstein 52-622 2,690,002 9/1954 Grenell 29-121 2,727,632 12/ 1955 Mack 29-527 2,744,042 5/ 1956 Pace 29-455 2,882,588 4/ 1959 Rieppel et al 29-421 LEWIS H. MYERS, Primary Examiner.

ELLIOT A. GOLDBERG, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A HEAT TRANSFER PANEL COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A SHEET-LIKE MATERIAL MADE OF METAL, (B) SAID METAL SHEET HAVING A PASSAGEWAY EXTENDING BETWEEN THE MAJOR SURFACES THEREOF WITH PORTIONS OF SAID SHEET DEFINING PORTIONS OF SAID MAJOR SURFACES SERVING AS RESPECTIVE OPPOSITE WALLS OF SAID PASSAGEWAY, (C) AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING MATERIAL HAVING A CROSS SECTION SMALLER THAN THE CROSS SECTION OF SAID PASSAGEWAY AND EXTENDING COMPLETELY THROUGH SAID PASSAGEWAY, (D) AN INSULATING MATERIAL DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID CONDUCTING MATERIAL AND THE WALL OF SAID PASSAGEWAY AND COMPLETELY SURROUNDING SAID CONDUCTING MATERIAL, (E) SAID INSULATING MATERIAL SERVING TO ELECTRICALLY INSULATE SAID CONDUCTING MATERIAL FROM THE METAL OF SAID PANEL, AND (F) ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING CONNECTION MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID ELECTRICAL CONDUCTING MATERIAL DISPOSED WITHIN SAID PASSAGEWAY, (G) SAID ELECTRICAL CONNECTING MEANS BEING INSULATED FROM THE METAL OF SAID PANEL AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE PANEL FOR CONNECTING SAID CONDUCTING MATERIAL TO A SOURCE OF ELECTRICAL POWER. 